Thursday, November 13, 2014

Perspective

One of my favorite short film makers, the Jubilee Project, premiered their new video, Comfortable, where they asked 50 people 1 question. They asked if they could change one thing about their body what would they change. They asked young, old, men, women, black, white and every color in between one simple question. One lady laughed and said "Only one?" The adults said they would change their ears, eyes, forehead, to not have stretch marks. They went on to explain why they want them changed and you could sense the discomfort and embarrassment they had about their flaws. The same question was asked to kids. "If you could change one thing about body what would you change?" A little girl answered to have a mermaid tail and a little boy answered legs like a cheetah so he could run fast. Another little girl answered, "I don't think there's anything to change."

Dove did video awhile back that went viral after their aired it. It was called the Real Beauty Sketches. A group of women were asked what would one thing about their face they'd change. They were brought to a warehouse where they were sat down and a forensic sketch artist sat on the other side of them with a curtain separating them. He began asking them questions about their features, to describe their hair, their jaws, eyes, etc., and he would draw based on their description. Once he finishes their sketch he thanks them and they leave so he never sees them. The next phase was that another person met each women and was brought in. The artist asked each individual to describe the women they met and he sketched according to their description. The women were brought in again and shown both sketches and were shocked. They were taken aback that that's how other viewed them. Many responded in saying the second sketch the face was friendly, light and happy. It was a huge moment of realization for them.

The brand Always shot a video recently that started their campaign #LikeAGirl. Various people were brought in and were asked to do different actions "like a girl" would do, run like a hit, hit like a girl. The arms and hands flailing, 'ohmygosh staaahp' being said. Then then brought in young girls and asked them the same questions. Their responses so much different. They ran fast, threw hard and fought like no tomorrow complete with karate chops and kicks. The director then asked this cute little girl if she thinks it's a good or bad thing to do something like a girl and she answers, "I don't even really know if it's a bad thing or a good thing. It sounds like a bad thing, like you're trying to humiliate someone." The video goes on to one individual who says that "Yes I kick like a girl and I swim like a girl and I walk like a girl and I wake up in the morning like a girl because I am a girl and that's not something I should be ashamed of."

What do all these videos have in common?

The perspective others have and the perspective of children. The children in both videos answered honestly. They didn't see their flaws like their forehead is too big or they're too short but their only flaw is that they couldn't teleport or have wings to fly. The girls did all those actions like they would do it, putting everything they have into it. They didn't know that 'like a girl' is an insult and means you're weak and inferior to boys. They were just being themselves. The other's who described the women in the Dove video didn't see their crows feet or bags under their eyes. They saw light and joy and kindness. They completely overlooked the imperfections they had.

So what's my point with these videos? My point is that they're inspiring and empowering. That we all need to keep everything in perspective. To every now and again change the way we see things, change the way we think, step into another's shoes, look at things from a different angle.

"what you see not only depends on what you look at but also where you look from"

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